"On the sit-in's first day, the four young men stayed until the store closed. More protesters joined the next day and days following, leading to at least 1,000 by the fifth day. Within weeks, sit-ins were launched in more than 50 cities in nine states. The Woolworth's counter in Greensboro - about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Raleigh - was desegregated within six months."
""We were quite serious, and the issue that we rallied behind was a very serious issue because it represented years of suffering and disrespect and humiliation," McNeil said in a 2010 Associated Press story on the 50th anniversary of the sit-in and the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum on the site of the old Woolworth's store. "Segregation was an evil kind of thing that needed attention.""
"Statements from North Carolina A&T and the family did not give his cause of death or where he died. McNeil had been living in New York. The historically Black university said that McNeil had recent health challenges but still managed to attend the sit-in's 65th anniversary observance this year in Greensboro. McNeil's death means Jibreel Khazan - formerly Ezell Blair Jr. - is now the only surviving member of the four. Franklin McCain died in 2014 and David Richmond in 1990."
Joseph McNeil, 83, died; he was one of four North Carolina A&T freshmen whose 1960 sit-in at a Woolworth's "whites only" lunch counter in Greensboro sparked nonviolent civil rights protests across the South. The four were refused service on Feb. 1, 1960, and refused to leave, inspiring growing protests that reached at least 1,000 participants by the fifth day and spread to more than 50 cities in nine states. The Woolworth's counter was desegregated within six months. McNeil later became a two-star general, had recent health challenges, and had been living in New York. With McNeil's death, Jibreel Khazan is the only surviving member of the four.
Read at ABC11 Raleigh-Durham
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